Tenants News Winter 2022

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HCBS Customer Experience Team CUSTOMER Cost of Living The Customer Experience team continue to engage with customers on their views and experiences of the services they’ve received from the council. The team focused on gaining a better understanding of how the current cost of living crisis is impacting our customers, particularly when it comes to our customer’s affordability and how they choose to spend their money. Of the customers we attempted to contact, we have successfully engaged 96 through our affordability project, and an additional 32 have spoken to us about their financial profile. We complete affordability discussions with customers every month, looking at their household income/expenditure and how customers choose to spend their finances. We ascertain if customers feel the rent and services they receive from the council are affordable. In addition to affordability, we completed our financial profile project in August, which asks customers about their employment status and any income their household receives from wages/welfare benefits. We discuss with customers any rent arrears and other corporate debts they may have. When the team identify a customer who may benefit from additional support with their financial situation, they can offer to make a referral to the most appropriate service on the customer’s behalf, such as the Advice Shop. The team have submitted five referrals over the previous quarter for additional financial support. Below are some of the key highlights from our discussions with customers: Affordability 76% of customers consider their current rent affordable, whilst 62% believe their other outgoings (gas, electricity, food etc.) are reasonable. 72% of customers reported they have never had any barriers in paying their rent. 62% of customers reported having money left at the end of the week or month. 62% of customers stated they regularly review their outgoings to see if they can make savings. 55% of customers we spoke to think that the council consider how affordable the rent is before offering a property to tenants. Financial Profile 77% of customers feel that HCBS offers sufficient financial support and advice. 72% of customers reported having no outstanding charges or rent arrears with the council. 66% of customers reported receiving one or more forms of welfare benefits to support their household income. 59% of customers advised that their financial profile had minimal impact on their day-to-day life. 38% of the customers we spoke to were in employment. After completing our projects, we identify any service improvement recommendations put forward by customers, which are passed on to the Senior Management Team for consideration. Where a customer’s improvement has been taken forward by the service, we contact the customer to keep them updated on how the service is implementing their improvement. Here is a reminder of the themes we will be contacting customers about to discuss over the coming year: Affordability Antisocial Behaviour ARC (Annual Return on the Charter) Survey Building Services (Repairs) Customer Contact, Support, Advice & Participation Customer Profile Digital Engagement Financial Profile Housing Options New Build Properties Your Home If you are interested in participating in any of these discussions or would like us to consider other topics, please feel free to contact the CX Team by calling 01506 280434 or emailing at HCBSCX@westlothian.gov.uk 10 | West Lothian Tenants News
CUSTOMER Advice Shop The rising cost of living is causing many people to worry about money and how to stay afloat through the winter. The Advice Shop can help you to make sure your income is maximised, provide help to deal with debts and offer support through a range of grants if you have a low income. ELECTRICITY.......... GAS...................... MORTGAGE........... RENT.................... INSURANCE........... GROCERIES........... SCHOOL COSTS...... CLOTHING............. LOAN.................... CAR............. Maximise your Income A range of social security benefits are available to help people with a low income. You do not have to be out of work to make a claim and how much you are entitled to will depend on your individual circumstances. To check if you might be entitled to make a claim to top up your income, our simple benefit calculator should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and can help you to identify what to claim. BENEFIT CALCULATOR Financial Support The Discretionary Housing Payment is a cash limited fund available for short term assistance for those people who face hardship as a result of not being able to meet their housing costs. Discretionary Housing Payments are available to assist council tenants, tenants of registered social landlords and tenants who are renting in the private sector who are in receipt of housing benefit, or the housing cost element of Universal Credit. APPLY ONLINE Deal with Problem Debt If you are struggling with debt, you don’t need to do it alone. The Advice Shop has a team of specialist money advisors. They can work with you to make sure your finances are under control and explore your options to deal with any debts you are finding difficult to manage. Debt advice providers across West Lothian have produced a money and debt toolkit to help you find the best support available for your circumstances. Energy Grant A new energy grant of up to £150 is available for people with a disability or long-term health condition who have to pay more for gas and electricity. This could be due to having mains powered equipment, a need to have heating at a constant level or another reason. Applications for this grant should be made online. APPLY ONLINE APPLY ONLINE Anyone worried about money can contact the Advice Shop to speak to an advisor about any support you might be entitled to. Tel: 01506 283000 (option 5) Email: advice.shop@westlothian.gov.uk Online 11 | West Lothian Tenants News
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Tenants News Winter 2022

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